1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly, and particularly to an electrical connector assembly with retention means for retaining mated receptacle and plug connectors thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
A board-to-board connector assembly is usually used to connect two Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). The board-to-board connector assembly includes a plug connector and a receptacle connector respectively mounted on the two PCBs. In some instances, when the plug connector is inserted into the receptacle connector, a retention means is required to lock the plug connector in the receptacle connector.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,876,217 and 5,931,689 each disclose a board-to-board connector assembly. Referring to FIG. 3 attached herewith, the board-to-board connector assembly of the above mentioned patents includes a receptacle connector 6 and a complementary plug connector 7. The receptacle connector 6 includes an insulative housing 60 and a plurality of terminals 61 retained in the insulative housing 60. The terminals 61 each include a retention arm 64 engaging with the insulative housing 60, a horizontal soldering tail 62 extending from a bottom end of the retention arm 64, a contacting arm 63 extending opposite to the soldering tail 62 and then upwardly from the bottom end of the retention arm 64 and a locking arm 65 extending parallel to the retention arm 64. The soldering tail 62 is soldered on a first PCB 8. The locking arm 65 is formed with a projection 66 for engaging with the plug connector 7. The plug connector 7 includes a dielectric base 70 and a plurality of contacts 71 retained in the dielectric base 70. The contacts 71 each includes a soldering tail 72 for soldering on a second PCB 9 and a contacting arm 73 for electrically connecting with a corresponding terminal 61 of the receptacle connector 6. In mating, the projections 66 of corresponding terminals 61 are respectively received in locking holes 74 defined in the dielectric base 70 to lock the receptacle and the plug connectors 6, 7 together. The mating of the plug and the receptacle connectors 7, 6 establishes an electrical connection between the first PCB 8 and the second PCB 9.
It is obvious that the terminals 61 with differently configured soldering tails 62, retention arms 64 and locking arms 65 are complex in the structure thereof, and in turn the corresponding structure of the insulative housing 60 for receiving the terminals 61 is also complex. Therefore, the difficulty of manufacturing the insulative housing 60 and the terminals 61 is increased and the manufacturing cost of the insulative housing 60 and the terminals 61 is increased.
Hence, an improved electrical connector assembly is required to overcome the disadvantage of the conventional electrical connector assembly.